Monday, November 19, 2007

Detail from a clay platter by Karen Cole -Terracotta, slips and oxides

"The first cup moistens my lips and throat. The second cup breaks my loneliness. The third cup searches my barren entrail but to find therein some thousand volumes of odd ideographs. The fourth cup raises a slight perspiration - all the wrongs of life pass out through my pores. At the fifth cup I am purified. The sixth cup calls me to the realms of the immortals. The seventh cup - ah, but I could take no more! I only feel the breath of the cool wind that raises in my sleeves. Where is Elysium? Let me ride on this sweet breeze and waft away thither." ~Lu Tung, "Tea-Drinking"

Yet another delightful journey. Once again I'll try to be short on words and long on photos.

The photo above is from a fabulous lunch that I was treated to at the Huntington Museum and Library in Pasadena , California. They have a lovely tea room in the rose garden that is more than just tea....yes, I"M STILL FULL!

The best part of it all was meeting two wonderful, artistic women and fellow bloggers, Kristen Robinson and Ruth Rae.

I was out there attending the wedding of the son of a dear friend and decided that what better way to spend my free time than to meet up with some fellow artists and bloggers. I can't recommend it enough.

We toured the museums. There is an incredible collection of original manuscripts and books from the 15th century and on........ and an art collection that is quite extensive. Below are just a few things that caught my eye.

Speaking of eyes....... detail from "Portrait of Laura" by George Wesley Monett (American 20th century)

"State Fair" by John Stewart Curry (American 20th century) Loved the colors and all of the action.

Detail from "Caller Waiting" by Kenneth Hayes Miller (American 20th century)OK- he loved to paint women shopping........do you think she is happy? Is she happy with him? I was wondering if this is just an innocent gesture. What do you think?

We strolled around all of the beautiful gardens admiring everything and taking an occasional break to be silly........ take your own camera, turn it to face you and snap! Sorry about being SO in your face.....but we were having such a good time!